FCPF – Guyana’s Readiness Package
-June 2015
Executive Summary
This Report outlines a preliminary assessment of the status of Guyana’s implementation of its REDD+ Readiness Preparation Phase. This assessment follows the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF) readiness assessment framework designed to measure countries’ relative progress on core readiness activities.
Guyana has commenced the development and implementation of REDD+ readiness activities, guided by a national framework, which includes the Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) and Readiness Preparation Proposal (R-PP), although funds from the FCPF have not yet been accessed.
To date, Guyana has expended significant domestic resources (Government of Guyana funding) to commence and operationalize various aspects of REDD+, including nation-wide stakeholder engagements on the Low Carbon Development Strategy. Domestic resources have also been directed towards paying for staffing within the REDD Secretariat…Click here for more information
FCPF – Guyana’s Readiness Preparation Proposal
– December 2012
Executive Summary
In global assessment reports, the Guiana Shield has been identified as one of the largest remaining blocks of primary tropical forest on earth, and has the potential to play an important role in mitigating climate change. The region has been reported to contain both the highest percentage of primary forest cover (over 90% is intact tropical forest) and the lowest human population density of any major tropical forested area.
Guyana’s forests cover approximately 85% of the country, contain an estimated 5 gigatons (Gt) of CO2 in above ground biomass, and cover an estimated 18.39 million hectares (Guyana Forestry Commission, 2011.) In addition to being one of Guyana’s most valuable natural assets, these forests are suitable for logging and agriculture, and have significant mineral deposits. Should Guyana choose to pursue a development pathway that would lead to increased deforestation from mining, logging and agriculture, there would be significant negative consequences for the world, as the critical ecosystem services that Guyana’s forests currently provide both locally and globally – such as biodiversity, water regulation and carbon sequestration – would be lost.
There is increasing global recognition of the fact that protecting forests against deforestation and forest degradation can be important in mitigating climate change– deforestation and forest degradation contribute an estimated 17% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Through the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) negotiations, mechanisms are emerging where policy decisions to provide long term protection of Guyana’s forests can be recognized as contributing to climate change mitigation. If an effectively designed and appropriately resourced Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD+) mechanism is agreed by the Parties to the UNFCCC, Guyana will be able to decide whether to place its forest under long-term protection by establishing an agreed level of forest based greenhouse gas emissions…Click here for more information